The Bergmeister Family Tree (Bavarian Military Rosters Part 5 of 5)

How is Josef Bergmeister related to “my” Josef Bergmeister? Our story began when I discovered a reference to a Josef Bergmeister who died fighting for Germany in World War I.  This Josef was from Puch, the hometown of my great-grandfather of the same name.  The town is very small, so I assumed they were related.  [...]

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The Great War and the Homefront (Bavarian Military Rosters Part 4 of 5)

What happened at the battle that cost Josef his life?  How were his American cousins affected by the same war? In Part 3 we read Josef Bergmeister’s service record and discovered that he died as a result of injuries sustained during the battle of Fleury-Thiaumont in July, 1916.  Today’s post will discuss this battle in [...]

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The Service Record for Josef Bergmeister (Bavarian Military Rosters Part 3 of 5)

Josef Bergmeister’s WWI Military Record Who was Josef Bergmeister? How did he die? In Part 1 of this series on Bavarian Military Rosters, I discovered an “unknown soldier” in the German Army that was likely related to my great-grandfather of the same name.  In Part 2, I presented what the Bavarian Military Personnel Record Books, [...]

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The Kriegsstammrolle (Bavarian Military Rosters Part 2 of 5)

The Bavarian Military Rosters – What were they? What does it say? In Part 1 – Cousins, Countries, and War – I spoke of the discovery of a German soldier with my great-grandfather’s name – Josef Bergmeister.  This particular Josef came from the same town my great-grandfather was born in – were they related?  Thanks [...]

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Cousins, Countries, and War (Bavarian Military Rosters Part 1 of 5)

Who was a German soldier who bore my great-grandfather’s name? In 1998, I visited my Bavarian great-grandparents’ town for the first time.  I was not well-prepared to do any genealogical research because the trip came about as a convenient accident, not through careful planning.  While I was in the general area for work-related travel, I [...]

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Surname Saturday: FISCHER

Surname – FISCHER Meaning/Origin – The surname FISCHER really does mean “fisher” as in “fisherman.”  According to the Dictionary of German Names, Second Edition by Hans Bahlow, the frequency of the name in Germany “is evidence of the former importance of this ancient occupation.”   I find it ironic that my particular Fischer’s were actually [...]

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Donna’s Picks: January 10, 2010

It’s Back!  The Return of “Donna’s Picks”! [Insert dramatic music here]  “Donna’s Picks” is my occasional feature to highlight other blogs, posts, or articles that may be of interest to my fellow genealogists.   Sit back and enjoy the following links: Online Language Tool – I read about this on a mailing list, but before I [...]

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Surname Saturday: ZAWODNY

Surname – ZAWODNY Meaning/Origin – The name ZAWODNY (hear it pronounced in Polish) is derived from the Polish word zawodny, meaning “unreliable” or “deceptive”.  The root zawod- comes from the word zawieść, which means to disappoint or deceive. (Source: Polish Surnames: Origins and Meanings, Second Edition by William F. Hoffman and the University of Pittsburgh [...]

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Interview with PolishOrigins™ – Part 2

In Part 1 of my interview with Zenon Znamirowski, the founder of PolishOrigins™, we learned about the company’s mission, the online forum, and the Forefathers Traces Tours.  In Part 2, I asked Zenon about the site’s databases as well as what resources he uses to find living relatives. What are some of the techniques you [...]

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Interview with PolishOrigins™ – Part 1

What’s Past is Prologue is pleased to welcome Zenon Znamirowski, the founder of PolishOrigins™.  The PolishOrigins™ web site, PolishOrigins.com, offers a variety of information useful to those researching Polish genealogy.  In this 2-part interview, I asked Zenon to describe the background of the site as well as some of its key features.  Here is what [...]

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I’m a Big Blog Now…Thoughts on “Turning Two”

As of tomorrow, January 6, 2010, What’s Past is Prologue will be two years old!  I had to laugh when I realized how similar my blog’s growth has been to that of a baby, and this baby is about to enter the “terrible two’s”!   In the beginning, the new blog gets all the care and [...]

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